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tv   BBC World News  PBS  March 22, 2012 5:00am-5:30am EDT

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>> this is "bbc world news." >> funding for this presentation is made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended global network to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news."
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>> french commandos tried to force the surrender of their shooting suspect. is he still alive? this is the scene outside his house. nothing has been heard form him for several hours. malis claim to have seized power. a general strike against portugal imposed austerity measures. the head of the european bank says the worst is over. welcome to bbc world news. also coming up, is china's economy in a slowdown as output shrank for the fifth month in a row? what price for freedom. judith tebbutt heads, after a ransom is paid to her somali kidnappers.
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hello and welcome. we have one priority, to take him alive. that is what the interior minister said about the standoff with the main suspect in the toulouse shootings. he also told a radio station that has -- contact to has been lost with mohammed merah and it is not clear if he is still alive. the sieges in the second day. this is the scene close to his ground-floor apartment. police say he admitted shooting dead three children and their teacher at a jewish school and three soldiers. >> explosions lit up the sky. just before midnight, the police made it clear that their
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patience had run out. they aim to intimidate the gunmen. the explosive devices took out a door and blew a hole in the wall at the apartment building at the center of the siege. a few hours later, and gunfire. it is not clear who was firing the shots. this standoff has entered its second day. the police are aware that mohammed merah is armed with an uzi. he shot at police through the door, injuring three officers. overnight, a picture emerged of who they were dealing with. mohammed merah is 23 years old, a frenchman about during descent, who was parting in a nightclub three weeks ago. he told negotiators he expected a mission from al qaeda after being trained in pakistan. he admits to killing seven people. >> he does not show regret
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except he did not have time to kill more people. he brags he brought france to its knees. >> the jerusalem funeral of a rabbi and three jewish and children. prosecutors say he admits he killed them in revenge for the deaths of palestinian children. and they say he also admitted to killing three paratroopers last week in revenge for the deployment of troops to afghanistan. the biggest manhunt in recent french history, apparently in its final stages. >> richard is live at the scene in toulouse. when was the last contact made with mohammed merah? >> the french interior minister did not make it explicit but he said that they have not had contact for four hours. sometime overnight, contact was
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lost. that has led him to say in these separate radio interviews that they are not sure whether he is alive or not. he hopes he still is a live body also said -- but he also said mohammed merah had wanted to die with weapons in his hands. >> there have been explosions overnight. was the shooting between the commandos surrounding his flat or was that an attempt to flush him out? >> it difficult to say. even the interior minister referred to hearing gunshots but even he said it is not clear what the source was. however, in the last hour or so, the interior minister, who is here in toulouse, he arrived
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an hour or so ago, he is going into a military barracks. holding meetings. and the motorcade left and we saw it. we watched it drive up the road behind me. it turned right into the road where the apartment is. he moved right up a very close to the scene, which could be significant in itself. there are reports on french tv stations that another senior official has arrived and done the same thing, going out to the scene. it is difficult to interpret what is going on. very little official and information is coming out. clearly something is afoot. exactly what, we're not able to say. >> thank you very much. cuteness troops claimed they have landed the role of the president amadou toumani toure
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and suspended the constitution. they have also brought in curfew. the announcement came after appeals for calm. >> these are the men who claim they are in charge of mali. no word from the president. at half past 4:00, a group of renegade soldiers appeared on state television to announce they had ended the role of president toure. they say they have ended an incompetent regime and its incapacity to fight an ethnic rebellion in the north of the country. >> as a consequence, the constitution is suspended until further notice. all institutions of the republic are dissolved. government will be created after coordination with representatives.
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>> this is the culmination of a chaotic 24 hours in the capital. it started when soldiers took to the streets and began exchanging fire with forces guarding the presidential palace. >> we heard gunfire. we had no idea what was happening. >> the rebels accuse the government of failing to provide the weaponry needed to find the rebellion in the country's north. the last public comments from the president came on wednesday when he took to twitter to deny any such attempt. the president already agreed to stand down. an election was due in just under a month. the soldiers say they will hand power to a new democratically elected government but they did not say how or when. >> let's go live to mali to
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speak to officials stranded in a hotel. is the situation,? >-- calm? >> the situation feels tense. two minutes ago, we had an exchange of gunfire not very far from the hotel. lesson 500 meters. -- less than 500 meters. the airport has been closed. we missed our flight. we were meant to leave the city today. there is not much i can tell you other than the tension, there has been the sound of gunfire about 100 meters from where we are.
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that is how dangerous the situation seems to be. >> are there significant numbers of troops on the street? >> yes, i was able to see from the balcony of my hotel room. i saw soldiers in the open-air, land cruisers, patrolling the streets. the ones i saw were not shooting. i have not seen soldiers shoot but i hear gunshots. of course when you hear gunshots to take cover. -- you take cover. we do not know at this point whether there has been casualties. that kind of information is not available at the moment. >> thank you for speaking to us. portugal is braced for a general strike. the country was bailed out last
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year and the government has imposed heavy cuts to public spending as well as tax increases. we are joined now from the mine with alison roberts. how closely followed is this strike? are all the unions on board? >> they are not. the largest federation, which has links with the communist party, is an opposition. they called the general strike. the second largest is not taking part. unlike in the last general strike. we are already saying public transport being a very hard hit. that will affect a lot of people who do not want to take part. in the public sector, it is patchy. many schools, may be affected because of non-teaching staff. it will fill the strike today.
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but it is by no means bringing the country to a standstill. >> give us an idea of the impact these measures will have. some opposition politicians are saying the death rates have increased because of the cuts to the health budget. >> that is right. those kinds of economic arguments and health arguments are being made. just a general laugh -- affect austerity. the economy is expected to shrink by 3.3%. there are some who say it could be more than that. we have already seen tax revenues much more hard hit than expected by the government. that will make its task of narrowing the deficit more difficult. there are a lot of skeptics in portugal, even among those who have not taken strike action. >> according to mario draghi, the worst is over.
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>> that is the president of the european central bank. he did an interview with a newspaper in which he said the worst is over. he is trying to calm fears in germany about inflationary pressure. the ecb, in a sense, issued a trillion euros into the money markets to try to ease the credit. >> this is quantitative easing in all but name. >> exactly. they fear it will cause inflation. inflation is a horrible economic crisis in its own crisis -- own right. he says the ecb will do it all it can to act on that. that was his take. he praises germany has an example for europe as saying it was up to governments to make a currency bloc crisis proof.
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interesting comments from mario draghi. a portuguese are showing their stand and how difficult things are for them. >> not as much as the greeks are. inflation is another problem for china. we have seen five months of diminishing factory output. >> that is a worry because that is not a trend you want to see. the factory of the golan economy, as it were. the reason why the global economy is not recovering as quick as we would like, one of the elements. an economist based in beijing was saying the domestic economy is one of the reasons why these factories are not seeing the output go higher and higher. it is still contracting after five months. this is bringing down the financial markets globally. if the chinese economy were to get into trouble, we are all in
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trouble. >> we are. you are watching "bbc world news." australia's most wanted man has been captured after seven years living wild in the bush. a former commander of the turkish armed forces has gone on trial. the general is the most senior officer to be tried in a civilian court. >> these investigations have gone on for four years. there are 500 people facing charges. it got so confusing, a lot of people have lost track. but when you see the supreme commander up until less than two years ago facing charges that could put him in jail, trying to overthrow the government, that brings home how much the military's fortunes have fallen.
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>> what is he putting forward for defense? >> he is saying, look at what they're charging me with. this is one of many cases the prosecutors are pushing. they have uncovered 42 websites that they say were making propaganda against the government while the general who was commander of the armed forces. therefore, he carries responsibility. he says i was the most powerful man in the country. if i really wanted to overthrow the government, would use a few internet sites in? i could have used more methods. many have other pointed as fabrications. there are to under 50 -- 250 officers under indictment. there are many who say the military was unaccountable for decades. there were dirty tricks.
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people disappeared. and that we need to show the military [inaudible] it could take years for the trout to go on. all that time, the general has to sit in prison. >> this is "bbc world news." the french interior minister says nothing has been heard from several hours from the man under siege in toulouse. newton is shoulders -- mutinous soldiers in mali say they have seized the government. the british woman who was held hostage for more than six months is expected to be reunited with her family today. judith tebbutt spent her first night of freedom in kenya where
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she is flown after her family paid a ransom to secure her release. her husband david was killed during the kidnapping. our east african correspondent joins us from nairobi. this will be controversial for the british authorities. that a ransom was paid. >> the british government has always maintained that it is against the idea of paying a ransom to secure the release of a hostage. in this case, it did not stand in the way of efforts by the family to raise the money and hand over a ransom. we understand that judith tebbutt's son was instrumental in trying to raise the money. we believe it was not far off a million dollars that was raised. that money was handed over in the last two or three days to the gang that had been holding judith tebbutt.
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it is a controversial topic. we know that in all the cases where the hostages are held in somalia, they are not released until a ransom is paid. this is the dilemma. the government says we do not agree because that only leads to the group's having more money to carry out more attacks and get more weapons. on the other hand, from the point of view of the families, and there are many waiting for their loved ones to be released, 289 are being held on ships, a further 26 held on land. their relatives are eager for some money to be handed over so they can be released. >> not only sinister in terms of wanting the ransom but business- like. several thousand dollars just for her lodgings.
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>> it is all about money when it comes to these games. there are all so brutal. although they tend to look after their hostages, look back at what happened to the french woman who was taken last year from the kenyan coast without the medicine she needed to stay alive. she died in captivity. they even ask for money for the body. very brutal, these groups. money is the bottom line for them. it is all they care about. >> australia's most wanted man has been captured after seven years on the run. malcolm naden had lived wild in the bush, killing kangaroos and breaking into homes to still supplies. police tracked him to a remote farmhouse. >> hooded and wounded, malcolm naden went out of the hospital
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after receiving treatment. he was injured after police raided the house in new south wales. they had been alerted to his whereabouts after he activated and motion sensor. >> he came out of the premises, out of a doorway, he was confronted by the police and he retreated back into the house and attempted to exit. the police again confronted him on that side. we had the building contained. a short scuffle ensued where he was then arrested. >> malcolm naden is wanted in connection with murder of two women and indecent assault on another. he spent nearly seven years on the run, even stealing food from the zero. -- zoo.
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he was likened to annette kelley, the bushranger from the 19th century. he was merely wanted man. sooner or later, he would make the mistake. he is now appearing in a courtroom where he is charged with murdering a woman and wounding a police officer. he has been taken to a maximum security jail. >> the top stories this hour, the u.s. security council hopes it will market turning point in the innocent -- international community's response to syria. the world's major powers agreed to a non-binding statement
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demanding an end to the violence and syria. in the united states, jeb bush says he is backing mitt romney. his father and brother are both former presidents and is regarded an influential figure in the republican party. to catch up on sports. >> hello. six months after he was pulled by his manager he has no future in manchester, the argentine striker has reappeared in the premier league. they came from behind to beat chelsea two-one at home. they are just a point behind manchester united. chelsea have the lead. sergio had a 78 minute penalty. eight minutes later, they had
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the winner. he said he will have an important part to play in the championship. >> he is not 100%. but he knows football very well. he knows where he should take more and did a fantastic job. >> his confirmation of the results. arsenal has moved up 2 1/3. -- to third. a header rescued them at home. liverpool's hopes of qualifying have taken another knock. wandered of lead -- they squandered a lead. that is it from me for now.
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>> in belgium, the country continues to grieve for following the crash which killed 22 children and six adults. this is the scene live. a public ceremony is held. the belgian king attending the event as he did yesterday. it is being held in st. peter's church in the center of town. 1400 people attending the service. there are screens outside for the public. then -- no names of parents or children have been given. one boy who was in the coach when it hit the tunnel wall will
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be reading a text. yesterday king albert the second broke protocol to try to console bereaved families at a memorial service for 15 of the 28 victims. separate services are being held today for the seven children and two adults. swiss investigators are traveling to belgium to try to question the surviving children in detail in an attempt to find out exactly how this accident happened. the driver on the bus killed along with the children and adults. coming up in a few minutes, a
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look at the international weather. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended global network to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?
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>> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.
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